| El Paso Community College's (EPCC) Rio Grande campus is located north of downtown El Paso, just across the U.S. border from Juarez, Mexico. The Rio Grande River bisects the college's urban neighborhood, and an observer might not realize that there are two separate cities or two separate countries located there.
The EPCC campus lies within an extremely low-income community called Sunset Heights, which forms the core of El Paso's Empowerment Zone, along with an adjacent neighborhood called El Segundo Barrio. More than a third of the 17,000 residents of El Segundo Barrio live at less than 50 percent of the poverty line. In Sunset Heights, which is home to 6,800 residents, per capita income was $5,419 in 1989. Thirteen percent of residents rely on public assistance.
Sunset Heights is an old, once-grand neighborhood with two- and three-story houses built in the classical revival style. Many of these homes are the size of small mansions and were built by the prosperous merchants who platted out modern El Paso before the Civil War. In the 160 years since its genesis, however, Sunset Heights has become a typical inner-city environment. Many of the large homes that once brought grandeur to the neighborhood have been subdivided into apartments. Some have become tenements, while others have been razed and replaced with apartment buildings. Only a few have been restored.
Sunset Heights' residents lost economic development and employment opportunities when local jobs moved to Mexico after the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Commercial development in the area now consists mainly of small stores that carry used goods or remainders from area manufacturers. Public facilities include a library and a community recreation center, both heavily used by young people. The neighborhood's largest open structure is Sacred Heart Church, a Catholic parish that provides shelter to 200 homeless individuals and farm workers each night during the winter months.
EPCC will use Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities funds to establish a community activities center in an historic building located on its campus. Neighborhood residents will hold meetings and conduct activities in the community center. In addition, the college will use the center to offer community services that include holistic health programs, job training, and free adult education classes.
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